Study Desk

Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because if they are prosperous, you will be prosperous too.

"The Lord says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home.

I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, gave me a message for Shemaiah of Nehelam, who had sent a letter in his own name to all the people of Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the other priests. In this letter Shemaiah wrote to Zephaniah:

to send to all the prisoners in Babylon this message about Shemaiah: "I, the Lord , will punish Shemaiah and all of his descendants. I did not send him, but he spoke to you as if he were a prophet, and he made you believe lies. He will have no descendants among you. He will not live to see the good things that I am going to do for my people, because he told them to rebel against me. I, the Lord , have spoken."

A terrible day is coming; no other day can compare with it— a time of distress for my people, but they will survive."

There is no one to take care of you, no remedy for your sores, no hope of healing for you.

Complain no more about your injuries; there is no cure for you. I punished you like this because your sins are many and your wickedness is great.

The people who live there will sing praise; they will shout for joy. By my blessing they will increase in numbers; my blessing will bring them honor.

Their ruler will come from their own nation, their prince from their own people. He will approach me when I invite him, for who would dare come uninvited? They will be my people, and I will be their God. I, the Lord , have spoken."

In the desert I showed mercy to those people who had escaped death. When the people of Israel longed for rest,

The Lord says, "Sing with joy for Israel, the greatest of the nations. Sing your song of praise, ‘The Lord has saved his people; he has rescued all who are left.'

They will come and sing for joy on Mount Zion and be delighted with my gifts— gifts of grain and wine and olive oil, gifts of sheep and cattle. They will be like a well-watered garden; they will have everything they need.

The Lord says, "A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children; they are gone, and she refuses to be comforted.

Stop your crying and wipe away your tears. All that you have done for your children will not go unrewarded; they will return from the enemy's land.

There is hope for your future; your children will come back home. I, the Lord , have spoken.

The Lord provides the sun for light by day, the moon and the stars to shine at night. He stirs up the sea and makes it roar; his name is the Lord Almighty.

that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum's son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself.

"The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has ordered you to take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy, and to place them in a clay jar, so that they may be preserved for years to come.

"Sovereign Lord , you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you.